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REDUCING THE IMPACT OF MALARIA IN NIGERIA:A Public Health Expenditure Conundrum
By R.A. Bello,Department of Economics,University of Ilorin,Ilorin, Nigeria.email: Magbel 6698@yahoo.com
ABSTRACT
Malaria mortality and morbidity are aggravated by a variety of factors, including poor laboratory diagnostic capacity, inadequate management, delayed or improper treatment by households, and limited public funding for malaria control and prevention. The importance of public expenditure in the reduction of deaths from malaria is the focus of this paper. The paper seeks to determine the relationship between deaths from malaria and public health and non health expenditure in Nigeria, the impact of malaria deaths on the economy and how much more public health expenditure is required to reduce deaths from malaria. To achieve these objectives, the study adopts the Filmer and Pritchet model (1997), and the gross output transfer models on data from 1975-2001.The study revealed that there is a negative relationship between deaths from malaria, public health expenditure, per capita income, and non-public health expenditure, but a positive relationship between deaths from malaria and political instability. The study further found that between 1975 and 2001, and average of 5.86% of the GDP was lost to malaria deaths annually. It is recommended that in addition to the current ?14,000 per capita health expenditure, a transfer of an additional ?45,684.00 per head from other sectors to the health sector could go a long way in averting an additional death from malaria.
PRICE BEHAVIOUR AND DYNAMICS OF SMALL RUMINANT MARKETS IN NIGERIA
By V.O. Okoruwa, Department of Agricultural Economics,Faculty of Agriculture and Forestry,University of Ibadan,Nigeria and T.O.Williams,International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI),IITA,Ibadan,Nigeria
ABSTRACT
There is an enormous opportunity for trade in livestock within and between states in Nigeria especially when the differences in human population and volume of movement of livestock across states are considered. This paper investigates the price behaviour and market dynamics of small ruminant markets in Nigeria. The price series of ruminant livestock collected by the Federal Office of Statistics (FOS) were used and they covered the period January 1975 to December 1997 for six spatial markets. Results of the unit root and cointegration tests employed disproved the hypothesis of non-stationarity at first difference and validated the hypothesis of non-cointegration. Three markets (Sokoto, Borno, Niger) were confirmed by the Granger causality test to occupy leadership positions in the formation and transmission of sheep prices while two markets were confirmed for goat prices. Results of the cointegration tests further suggested that stable long-run relationships exist among spatial markets for both sheep and goats and that any divergence from market equilibrium due to exogenous shocks would not persist. There were very few occurrences of bi-directional Granger-causality in both the sheep and goat markets. These findings indicate that leader markets should be the prime targets for planned government market reform, which is expected to extend to as many markets as possible.
COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF INDUSTRIALIZATION: The Case of Nigeria and Selected Transition and Developing Economies
By N.I. Nwokoma,Department of Economics,University of Lagos, Lagos, Nigeria. email:ndugoodman@yahoo.com
ABSTRACT
The Millennium Development Goals have been described as a 'global deal' by both the developed and developing countries, under the auspices of the United Nations Organization, to achieve set targets on development and poverty-related issues by 2015. Given that poverty can be addressed by enhancing economic growth in the developing economies, efforts have been made in different countries to enhance industrialization as a vehicle to achieving the above goals. This paper undertakes a comparative appraisal of industrialization in Nigeria and in selected countries from the major world economic groups - developed economies, the transition economies of Europe and the newly industrialized economies. By evaluating the growth pattern of manufacturing value added in these countries as well as the scheme of industrial incentives in one of the transition economies, the paper discovers that the rate of industrialization in Nigeria is falling, relative to growth in the poor developing countries. Hence, for the country to achieve the targets set under the NEEDS programme as well as work towards the attainment of the millennium development goals in 2015, urgent attention is required to turn around the seemingly dwindling fortunes of Nigeria's industrial sector.
PUBLIC TRANSPORT FARE SUBSIDIES FOR CHILDREN AND THE ELDERLY IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES
By Douglas O.A. Osula,Department of Civil Engineering, University of Benin, Benin City, Nigeria
ABSTRACT
A modification to an earlier formula for estimating subsidy requirements for developing countries is presented. The modification has been made to cater for the travel expenditure needs of school-going children and the elderly. As with the earlier formula, the present one is designed for both regulated and deregulated transport markets. It yields a subsidy level that is commensurate with the level of control a government is able to exercise over public transport operations. The modification is based on subsidizing school trips made by school children as a matter of course, but also providing subsidy for trips by the elderly should it be determined that such a subsidy is required.
TRADE AND EXCHANGE RATE POLICIES AND ECONOMIC PERFORMANCE IN NIGERIA: An Empirical Analysis
By Adeolu O. Adewuyi, Economic Development Department, Nigerian Institute of Social and Economic Research, Ibadan
ABSTRACT
This paper investigates the impact of trade and exchange policies on imports, non-oil exports and non-oil components of the gross domestic product (GDP). The study covers 1970 to 2000. Econometric results obtained from this study reveal that trade policy changes have had a negative impact on the growth of non-oil exports, while currency depreciation/ devaluation produced positive effect. The empirical results suggest that import restriction is not an effective measure for correcting an unfavourable current account position because of its implications for domestic production and consumption, which depend heavily on imports. The results also indicate that currency depreciation / devaluation is not a potent measure for promoting favourable current account position. The evidence suggests a direct and significant linkage exists between the oil and the non-oil activities. Simulation experiments reveal that currency appreciation combined with a relatively liberalized trade policy regime will promote a more favourable economic performance in Nigeria than currency depreciation.
GLOBALIZATION AND THE NIGERIAN MANUFACTURING SECTOR
By Reuben O. Bamidele, National Centre for Economic Management,and Administration (NCEMA),Ibadan
ABSTRACT
Globalization is a system that confers benefits and poses challenges and risks to countries across the globe and has gained momentum from the last quarter of the twentieth century. How it manifests in the Nigerian manufacturing sector is explored in this paper. It was found that the country exhibits a high level of economic openness that is not derived from manufacturing activities. Increases in capital inflows, particularly foreign direct investment do not seem to provide the necessary stimuli for manufacturing in the country. This suggests that economic openness and the inflow of foreign direct investment must be combined with other vital factors to give the desired boost to industrial development, especially manufacturing. The evidence led to the suggestion that if Nigerian manufacturing is to benefit maximally from globalization, emphasis should first be placed on integration at the sub-regional level to form a formidable bloc for effective and efficient linkage with the rest of the world. Secondly, in order to reduce production costs, the energy sector should be privatized. In addition, to boost manufacturing activities in the country, an efficient transport infrastructure should be developed and local sourcing of raw materials actively encouraged.
THE IMPACT OF EXCHANGE RATE VOLATILITY ON PRIVATE INVESTMENT IN NIGERIA: An Error Correction Representation
By Patricia A. Adamu, Department of Economics, College of Education, Ekiadolor, Benin
ABSTRACT
Private sector investment is known to be directly related to economic growth in both advanced and developing countries. Previous empirical studies have found that the factors that determine private domestic investment in Nigeria, include: inconsistency in macroeconomic policies, foreign exchange policy, external debt, openness, and fiscal and monetary policies. This paper investigates the impact of exchange rate volatility on private sector investment in Nigeria over the period 1973-2002. The study employed cointegration and error techniques to determine the relationship between exchange rate volatility and private sector investment. The unit root tests conducted showed that both variables are stationary in first difference, and are also cointegrated. This indicates that a long-run equilibrium relationship exists between them. The results further confirm that exchange rate volatility has an adverse effect on private domestic investment. In order to accelerate economic growth and development through private investment in Nigeria, effective macroeconomic policies have to be adopted to ensure exchange rate stability, arrest the current excessive depreciation of the naira exchange rate, and build up external reserves.
ENTREPRENEURSHIP AND THE PERFORMANCE OF SMALL-SCALE ENTERPRISES IN NIGERIA
By Olanrewaju Olaniyan Department of Economics and Centre for Econometric and Allied Research University of Ibadan Ibadan, Nigeria o.olaniyan@mail.ui.edu.ng
ABSTRACT
The paper explores the role of entrepreneurship to explain the performance of small-scale enterprises in Nigeria. Using data from a survey of 417 small woodworking enterprises in Nigeria, we found out that the characteristics of entrepreneurs have a strong impact on the performance of small-scale enterprises in Nigeria. The level of human capital proxied by the years of schooling of the entrepreneur and the experience of the entrepreneur are the most significant factors that affect the performance of SSEs in Nigeria. Other factors that are also important determinants are the value of seed money used in starting the business and the location of the enterprise. It is obvious that for sustained performance of small-scale enterprises in Nigeria, the entrepreneurial skills of the owners should be adequately developed.
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